Quality Engineer – Pneumatic & Hydraulic Cylinder Manufacturing
Full Time • Cary
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Competitive salary
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
About the Role
As a Quality Engineer, you’ll help ensure that our pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders meet demanding performance and reliability standards. You’ll support our ISO 9001–certified quality management system by driving continuous improvement, leading root‑cause investigations, and working closely with engineering, production, and suppliers. A key part of this role includes developing and maintaining CMM programs to support accurate inspection of precision‑machined components.
Key Responsibilities
Quality Assurance & Control
- Develop, implement, and maintain quality control plans for pneumatic and hydraulic cylinder manufacturing processes.
- Perform in‑process and final inspections using precision measurement tools and CMM equipment.
- Create, modify, and optimize CMM programs to support accurate, repeatable inspection of machined components.
- Review engineering drawings, specifications, and customer requirements to ensure compliance.
ISO 9001 Compliance
- Support ongoing maintenance and improvement of the ISO 9001 quality management system.
- Participate in internal audits and assist with external audit preparation and corrective actions.
- Maintain accurate documentation, records, and quality reports in accordance with ISO requirements.
Root Cause Analysis & Continuous Improvement
- Lead investigations into nonconformances, customer complaints, and production issues.
- Use structured problem‑solving tools (5 Why, Fishbone, FMEA, PDCA) to identify root causes and implement corrective/preventive actions.
- Analyze quality data and trends to recommend process improvements and reduce scrap, rework, and defects.
Cross‑Functional Collaboration
- Work closely with engineering to validate new designs, materials, and processes.
- Partner with production teams to ensure quality standards are understood and consistently applied.
- Collaborate with suppliers on quality expectations, incoming inspection, and supplier corrective actions.
Testing & Validation
- Oversee functional testing of cylinders, including pressure testing, leak testing, and performance verification.
- Develop test procedures and ensure equipment calibration and maintenance.
Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Industrial, or Manufacturing Engineering (or equivalent experience).
- Experience in a manufacturing environment, ideally with fluid power components or precision‑machined parts.
- Strong understanding of ISO 9001 quality systems.
- Proficiency with measurement tools (calipers, micrometers, bore gauges, CMMs).
- Hands‑on experience with CMM programming (PC‑DMIS, Calypso, or similar).
- Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings and GD&T.
- Experience with root‑cause analysis and corrective action methodologies.
Preferred
- Experience in pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder manufacturing.
- Knowledge of machining, welding, assembly, and surface finishing processes.
- Familiarity with SPC and quality software tools.
- Certifications such as CQE, CQA, or Six Sigma Green Belt.
- Experience with AS9100 or ISO 13485 a plus
Key Competencies
- Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills
- Detail‑oriented with a commitment to accuracy
- Clear communication and documentation abilities
- Collaborative mindset with a continuous improvement focus
Compensation: $70,000.00 - $80,000.00 per year
ABOUT CUSTOM CYLINDERS, INC.
Established over 40 years ago by engineers, Custom Cylinders, Inc. specializes in the design and manufacturing of custom pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders and valves and continues to maintain its design-focused approach to addressing customer needs. In addition to custom cylinders, we can also provide fittings, valves, and other components, and are continually expanding our offerings to meet comprehensive customer needs. Custom Cylinders can service orders as small as a single cylinder or as large as 50,000 pieces per year.
Our products are found in a wide variety of industries and applications including but not limited to food processing and packaging, medical devices, printing, automotive, material handling systems, and automation.
Our products are found in a wide variety of industries and applications including but not limited to food processing and packaging, medical devices, printing, automotive, material handling systems, and automation.
Our size gives us the flexibility to take on projects and degrees of customization to meet customers’ needs, and our in-house capabilities enable us to control the entire design and manufacturing process and maintain quality product development timelines and delivery.
Mission and Vision
Our mission is to be that trusted partner to our fluid power customers, solving their complex pneumatic and hydraulic challenges by delivering the delicate balance between performance, quality and cost. Founded by engineers, our design focused approach emphasizes designing and delivering solutions that solve problems and optimize costs.
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